SSCY Centre hosts a monthly learning series on the second Tuesday of each month, from 8:00-9:00 in the Northern Lights room on the second floor. These sessions will provide an opportunity to learn about and discuss a variety of topics that are relevant to SSCY families, programs, and staff. Everyone (including SSCY staff, staff at other facilities, and families) is welcome to attend! You may also watch the sessions as a webinar, either live or as a recording.

Select a session below to learn more, to register for its webinar, or to watch a recording of the session. Please contact the SSCY Centre Research Coordinator for more information: Jessie at jshea@rccinc.ca.

Mark your calendar for our upcoming sessions:

April 9: An Update on Changes Being Made by Shared Health Services Manitoba

Many of the decisions we make in health and social services work are inherently ethical. They challenge values and principles, and often cause moral distress. With decisions involving children and families, the stakes often seem especially high.

This workshop will provide a brief introduction to ethical decision-making for clinicians and teams working in pediatric rehabilitation settings. Using focused case studies, we will:

Describe the nature of ethical issues in pediatric rehab

Examine some strategies for ethical decision making

Unpack an ethical decision-making framework

Learning Objectives: By the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

Articulate foundational concepts of ethics in health care

Describe some of the major ethical dilemmas encountered in pediatrics and rehab settings

Use a decision-making framework to work through a difficult ethical issue

Presented by: Jennifer Dunsford, RN, MN, MPA. Jennifer is a Registered Nurse with clinical experience in medical, surgical, and oncology nursing, and in project management, quality and patient safety. She has been Regional Director for Ethics Services for the WRHA since 2012, and also has responsibility for Accessibility and Policy within the region.

February 12, 2019: Every Child Every Time - Our Commitment to Prevent and Relieve Pain

Every Child Every Time aspires to bring our “comfort promise” to life and prevent and relieve pain as much as possible for all children and adolescents who receive healthcare in Winnipeg, and, in the longer term, throughout the province of Manitoba, Canada.

Every Child Every Time works under the umbrella of the Child Health Program of the WRHA and the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health of the University of Manitoba. We are funded by the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

December 11, 2018: Let’s Talk Sibs: A Developmental Approach to Involving Sibs in Family Centred Care: Why Sibs Need our Support and what we can do to Provide it

Having a sibling with differences provides the typically developing sibling(s) with both unique opportunities and unique challenges. However, very often siblings’ issues are under serviced and they are often left out of important information regarding their brothers or sisters. Sibshops is an international program that provides siblings with peer support and information in a lively, recreational setting.

Julie Walsh, MSW, RSW, is a Registered Social Worker and family therapist who has been facilitating Sibshops and presenting about sibling’s experiences since 2011. Grace Pagtakhan is a post-baccalaureate student at the University of Manitoba. She has two younger brothers who are autistic, and she has been a peer mentor and facilitator with the Sibshops program since 2012.

In this presentation you will learn about:

The importance of involving and supporting siblings

Common concerns siblings may have and ways we can support them

What Sibshops are

You will also hear from a sibling about her experiences and how she feels service providers could help.

Let’s Talk Sibs presentations are funded by the CHILD-BRIGHT SPOR Network and the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

November 13, 2018: St.Amant Autism Programs: ABA through the years: Where we’ve come from and where we’re going

St.Amant Autism Programs is a provincially funded program delivering early intensive behavioural intervention and consultative services to families of children and adolescents on the autism spectrum.

With a growing waitlist and increased number of children being diagnosed with ASD each year, St.Amant is responding by enhancing our existing services with the goal to increase the number of children served each year while upholding our commitment to evidence-based practice.

In this presentation you will learn about:

A brief history of the Autism Programs and how it has evolved since their pilot project in 1998

An overview of the key changes to their service models that went into effect September 2018

An introduction to the essential concepts and principles of contemporary applied behaviour analysis

A brief review of the evolution of behaviour science over the past few decades

Some common criticisms and misunderstandings of applied behaviour analysis

Children’s disABILITY Services is a voluntary program through the Manitoba Department of Families. We provide resources and supports to families with children with developmental or physical disabilities.

June 12, 2018: Gaining Movement and Independence through Conductive Education for Children with Neurological Motor Disorders

Presented by: Chris Martin, QCS, The Movement Centre of Manitoba

The Movement Centre of Manitoba is committed to improving the physical health of children with neurological motor disabilities such as cerebral palsy, stroke, and spina bifida. Through the teachings of Conductive Education Rehabilitation, we strive to maximize the independence of our clients. We provide movement and learning opportunities with appropriate motivations and expectations, in order to overcome the challenges faced by the physically impaired population.

In this presentation you will learn about:

What Conductive Education Rehabilitation is

What skills clients work on during Conductive Education Rehabilitation sessions

How Conductive Education Rehabilitation methods can be applied to everyday life

May 8, 2018: Rehabilitation Centre for Children's work with Jordan's Principle

RCC has been involved with and providing services through Jordan’s Principle since August 2016. Health Canada has requested RCC provide OT, PT and SLP services to children aged birth to school entry in First Nations Communities in Manitoba. We are working with a number of partners to provide these services throughout the province.

In this presentation you will learn about:

The background of Jordan’s Principle

What is happening in Manitoba

Services provided by RCC

Evaluation survey results

View the poster for full details. The slides are not included in the first part of the webinar, so you may download them here.

MD&S designs, builds and modifies different types of assistive technology and equipment, to help with independence and by assisting children and youth participate in daily activities that they otherwise could not.

In this presentation you will learn about:

Who we are and what we do

What equipment we build, how we build it, and why we build it

How we use new technologies like 3D printing and CNC manufacturing to better serve our children and youth

March 13, 2018: Revising the service delivery model in response to increased demand: Dealing with the plagiocephaly ‘epidemic’

Presented by: Kathy Mulder, Physiotherapist

Background: The incidence of deformational plagiocephaly has continued to grow since the introduction of the Back to Sleep campaign. Although it is primarily a cosmetic condition, it can be associated with other diagnoses, including torticollis. Early diagnosis and intervention is ideal. Rising referral rates can impact the ability to provide timely assessment and follow up.

Our project:

A survey of Canadian pediatric facilities was conducted to examine variations in referral volumes and service delivery models across sites

Parents have been engaged to help us understand their experiences and preferences

We will present preliminary data from this quality improvement project and discuss our next steps to provide timely and effective care for this population

This session contained preliminary/unpublished research data, so the presenters have asked us to not post the session recording until after they publish the research. If you have specific questions for the presenters, please contact them directly: Kristy Wittmeier at kwittmeier@hsc.mb.ca.

February 13, 2018: Sleep in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

January 9, 2018: Ready to Eat? Can training caregivers improve participation in feeding for children with cerebral palsy?

Participation in feeding is important for children of all skill levels from a social and emotional perspective, as well as to enhance communication and development. Yet, children with cerebral palsy (CP) with difficulty feeding and swallowing may be excluded from participation for fear of negative health consequences. This talk will present evidence that feeding training methods can improve participation in safe feeding.

Learning Objectives:

List the benefits of participation in feeding for all children regardless of their feeding abilities

Elucidate the pros and cons of balancing risk and fostering participation in feeding

Articulate the importance of engaging caregivers in feeding training across environments in order to promote safe feeding participation for children with CP

Identify important elements of caregiver training and resource development in a variety of care settings

Specialized Services for Children and Youth (SSCY) is an initiative focused on the integration and, where possible, co-location, of services for Manitoba children and youth with disabilities and special needs.